MSI Press Blog

As with Carl, many people have "signs" of cancer that can be interpreted either as something else quite mild or dismissed entirely as just a bad day or maybe I ate something bad yesterday. Otherwise quite healthy people simply ignore them as an annoyance. (Before cancer, Carl was sick just one day in his life -- 50 years earlier he threw up, once, on the lawn, from unsuspectingly drinking stagnant water the day while carrying out his Forest Service employee duties, Seriously. Never again did he ever throw up even after three rounds of chemotherapy, but he died, healthy, from cancer!)  This is the insidious nature of cancer. Often, you just do not know you have it because the signs are so innocuous until it has taken over your body and is in the winner's circle -- and you have an incredibly difficult battle to get your body back -- and many people lose that battle every single day. This is especially true of "toilet information." Change in bowel movement is prett

  In March, Carl was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 (metastatic) cancer of unknown primary. In August, he died.  When we got the diagnosis, we had to choose a detour from our normal life. There was no way to move straight ahead with life as usual because, you see, there was this big obstacle, called cancer, straight ahead. So, the question was to detour to the left and choose a treatment option, hope, and focus on the living or detour to the right and let nature takes its course, choose to accept the situation at face value, letting nature take its course, and focus on the dying. To fight or to surrender? There was no logical superiority of either path, not knowing what lay behind the cancer tree and how long was the path for it  continued out of sight. We decided not through reasoning but through conditioned reaction to fight. That is what we had done all our adult lives, as we successfully navigated life for four children, two with rare birth defects, and three grandchildren, two wi

  Colorectal cancer has a life expectancy of 4-6 months if discovered in stage 4. If discovered in stage 1-2, life expectancy is 5 years. (Note: Carl's Cancer Compendium provides longevity statistics for a wide range of cancers.) So many people die from colon cancer and colorectal cancer after brief periods of chemotherapy, if that, a imperative exists for watching for early signs of cancer is not heeded (or in some cases, they are simply missed or misinterpreted). I speak from personal experience because although Carl died from cancer of unknown primary ( CUP ), his oncologist was convinced that the original cancer was gastro-intestinal in nature although the colon was clear of the cancer by the time the cancer had reached stage 4 (which can happen in cases of CUP). So, assuming the oncologist was right about the original cancer, did Carl actually survive the 5 years without knowing it? Discovery at late stage does not mean the cancer arrived late stage -- it may have taken mon

  image from www.cancercenter.com When Carl was diagnosed with cancer, our vet-oncologist, who was successfully treating several of our cats who have various forms of cancer -- skin cancer, lymphoma, breast cancer, lung cancer -- with immunotherapy and encouraged us to ask for immunotherapy for Carl. If only... As it turned out, immunotherapy has to be targeted as the primary cancer organ, and that organ could not be found for Carl, who was eventually (but quickly) diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary (a very rare and deadly form of cancer, but we have heard of a couple of other folks in our social circles who experienced it -- and died as quickly as he did). Fortunately, for most of the organs, there are now immunotherapies (and research is finding/creating more). So, most people now have a choice between chemotherapy and immunotherapy -- and maybe some other treatments. For an updated list from the Cancer Research Institute on the latest immunotherapies, check here . This page a

  Carl dozing with his beloved cat, Intrepid both died of cancer, were cremated, and share a vault in local cemetery's columbarium Carl was often dozing during the last months of his life, perhaps as much as the last year. He had had uncontrolled sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome for years. For the former, her refused treatment; the CPAC and his beard battled for dominance, and his beard won. RLS was tames with medicine.  When Carl would doze off, I just assumed he was tired because he did not get adequate amounts of sleep. However, something else of which I was completely unaware was probably at work: dying. The dozing off became longer and more frequent during the last 2-3 months of his life, and during the last week, he moved from being mostly interactive to being mostly somnambulant. Carl dozed off and on during the day a lot even as much as a year before being diagnosed with advanced stage 4 cancer of unknown primary . Indeed, some of it was very likely a manifestation of

  I like to follow the blog of Barbara Karnes , hospice nurse par excellence. Much of what she has to say to hospice nurses about end-of-life issues in general apply to caregivers of cancer patients in particular. Her latest post, " For some doctors, it just isn’t in their tool kit to stop trying to treat,"  reflects our experience very well. Only when Carl fell and needed four people to lift him and get him to the hospital and x-rays showed complete take over by cancer of four major organs along with blood clots in his legs and lungs did the doctor suggest hospice (although he also expressed a willingness to continue treatment -- a different treatment -- if we wanted). We chose hospice, but the period of time was short. Carl returned from the hospital and went on hospice August 7. He died August 16. I have always wished that the doctor had put the hospice option in front of us much earlier, perhaps even at the beginning of the 5-month period during which the doctor tried eve

We love grilling. Carl had quite a reputation for grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, salmon, and more, a tradition carried on by his children (son Shawn in the picture) and grandchildren (granddaughter Neela in the picture). Friends, family, and neighbors always loved coming by for Carl's BBQs.  Then, Carl fell and was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer of Unknown Primary , which is an aggressive cancer, leaving little time to cope with rapid changes , let alone grilling or any kind of final fun. His oncologist thought that the primary probably was in the GI tract. Carl had skipped his colonoscopy (no one should ever do that). He was treated with a generic mix of chemicals as well as a mixture for colorectal cancer. It was too late! What we never realized during all those years of grilling was the potential connection between grilling and cancer. Had we known that, maybe Carl would have grilled less or differently. Perhaps he would have been more diligent about getting his colonoscopy. By

One of the fun things that a publisher (or at least, an acquisitions editor) gets to experience is meeting more than one member of a family -- as authors whose work we publish. In this series of presenting family authors, we take note of the Leaver writers, who have written books in various combinations and solo. Above pictured is Betty Lou Leaver and Shenan (CB) Leaver, who collaborated on Mommy Our House Guest , a fun book that has gained a number of afficionados and been serialized in a magazine.  Betty Lou, who has written dozens of books, including, for MSI Press, Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star and The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom (with Laura Dabbs) and Carl, who typeset and designed the covers of many MSI Press publications and edited Overcoming the Odds , collaborated on the book,  Intrepid.  who unfortunately passed away in 2021 from Cancer of Unknown Primary, Carl, unfortunately, passed away suddenly in 2021 from Cancer of Unknown Primar

  Earlier, Cancer Diary reported on the death of Kirstie Alley due to colon cancer. Now another well-known person has died from it: Pelé.  Carl Leaver , MSI Press typesetter and co-founder, died of Cancer of Unknown Primary ; however, his oncologist suspected that it started as colon cancer (though, typical of CUP, the colon was clean by the time CUP was diagnosed at advanced Stage 4). Carl had skipped his colonoscopy, not with a great deal of thought but just because he did not want to be bothered with it at the time. Advice to everyone: be bothered with it! Read about the symptoms of colon cancer and issues of colonoscopies HERE . There is also a good deal of information about colon cancer at Carl's Cancer Compendium (cancers are listed alphabetically). Click HERE for more Cancer Diary posts. Click HERE for more posts about colon cancer. Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer

  Carl did not die of colon cancer. He might have had it, but his colon was clean by the time tests were undertaken to find his primary. They never did. The died of cancer of unknown primary (CUP), but there are theories that say that CUP results when very strong immune systems knock out the primary, which then escapes to other organs. In Carl's case, five other organs were under siege, but the oncologist always felt that the cancer had started in the GI tract though it could not be seen there by the time Carl was diagnosed. Carl also did not have a colonoscopy. His perception of it as unpleasant, and his imagination of it as just too uncomfortable, especially the preparation, kept her from scheduling it -- likely to his eternal detriment. That given and said, I was fascinated to find a wonderful little article about how to make it all more tolerable. Short, illustrated, helpful. Read it HERE . For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Car

  May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. That gains attention close to home. I just had stitches removed from skin cancer surgery (last week).  According to my surgeon, skin cancer can take the form of melanoma , basal cell carcinoma , or squamous cell carcinoma . Of the three, melanoma is more dangerous because it spreads easily and quickly. Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma can usually be excised.  Both my late husband and I have experienced squamous cell carcinoma. For him, it appeared like a little horn on his forehead. It was easily excised and left no scar. Mine was more insidious. An "age spot" appeared out of nowhere, then grew, then changed shape, then because pussy, bled, and itched. The Skin Institute did not believe it was cancerous, but I insisted on an early biopsy -- and I was right. When something appears to be very wrong, it usually is very wrong, and the patient is still his or her own best advocate. We were fortunate. With squamous cell carcinom

(Carl, returning from chemotherapy, getting out of car and onto chair lift)   An inescapable decision--and a potentially life-changing one--can be whether or not to provide chemotherapy at advanced stage 4 of cancer. Chemotherapy given when a cancer is incurable (and side effects are minimal, manageable, or acceptable) is called palliative chemotherapy .  As with nearly anything medical or existential, there are pros and cons.  On the PRO side are the intents (if actually realized) shrink the cancer reduce the symptoms (e.g., pain) improve quality of life prolong life On the CON side are the peripheral aspects uncomfortable and/or disconcerting side effects (the same that accompany any chemotherapy: nausea; neuropathy; in the case of some compounds, hair loss) "end of life" chemotherapy can feel like grasping at straws, especially when/if the intents are not all met or met at all (an emotional side effect of depressions, desperation, anger--it depends upon the person) difficu